If you’ve seen the posts about our pantry, you already know that I’m a bit OCD about organization. Really, this is just “present Taylor” helping “future Taylor” because I regularly forget where I have put things and am TERRIBLE at looking for stuff. I’ll freak out about things being nowhere when really I’m looking right at them. It’s a serious problem, ha. Thus the method of storing everything in transparent and labelled jars came about (it also stopped all contamination by bugs or moths that sometimes live in flour and other dry goods). I don’t know about you, but I am also very guilty of buying food then sort of forgetting that it’s in the cupboard, or overlooking it when it actually comes time to eat. WELL. I’m getting myself together by putting all of the beans and grains that can be served with vegetables for meals right in front of my face where they can’t be ignored!

This is the easiest way, I think, to store and display dry goods. Don’t have a Yoko Yaya nearby to buy the jars with handles? A flat of mason jars does exactly the same thing and they are pretty cheap. We got 12 large mason jars for $18, and it made a huge difference in the kitchen cupboard. The only other place I have seen truly inexpensive food storage containers is Ikea, and even still if you are buying them in bulk the price adds up really quickly. Mason jars are also (obviously) made of glass instead of plastic, which seems better to me. I did a big tidy of the kitchen cupboard and the pantry downstairs the other day and things are looking goooood.